


Lemonade Steam on a Cold Winter's Night

by Indig0



Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [7]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: A different Jerry with a different background, Adam has bad anxiety when threatened, Adam is reluctant but welcoming, Adam is trying to live his life, Adam wants to be independent, Friends to Lovers, Jerry keeps their cool, Jerry wants to be helpful, M/M, Protective Adam, Rose is a good mom, Suddenly Boyfriends, he wasn't counting on Jerry showing up, there is nothing sadder than a sad Jerry, they pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 19:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17648384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Adam was looking forward to having the house to himself for three weeks when his mother went to visit her brother in Canada.  He didn't count on a badly-damaged android crawling up the driveway, but he couldn't turn Jerry away.  After a few days, he stopped wanting to.  After a couple weeks, he would protect them at all costs.They didn't really mean for their relationship to progress as far as it did, but things happen.(My last entry for DBH Rare Pairs week, "Free Day!"  It's been fun!)





	Lemonade Steam on a Cold Winter's Night

**Author's Note:**

> You think I won't make a new OTP out of two characters who have never met!? HA!

When the most recent group of androids had moved on, Rose patted Adam’s shoulder. “All right, you’re sure you’ll be okay here?”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. Say hi to Aunt Lily for me.”

“I will. …And Adam, if any androids show up, please –“

“Yeah, do what you would do.” He rolled his eyes. “I know. We shouldn’t be getting as many now, anyway.”

“I know, but you never know.” She kissed her son’s cheek and hugged him tightly before stepping away. “You behave, now. I know about your wild parties.”

“Mom!”

Rose left, laughing all the way to the car. She was planning to be gone for three weeks, and the spring planting wouldn’t start for another few months, so he wouldn’t have anything extra to do. He’d have the house to himself.

Adam sighed and poured himself some coffee. He and his mom joked a lot about his wild parties, because he never had any. Even before he’d quit school to help her, he hadn’t been very social. He’d spent his time reading and studying, and sometimes playing video games.

A few hours later the sun was fully up and Adam was finishing off his morning chores, topping off the firewood pile, when he heard a shuffling, grinding noise.

“Hello?” He stopped chopping wood and looked around. For a second everything was still.

Then a section of snow seemed to shift, and he realized there was something moving towards him in the driveway.

Adam clutched the axe and approached slowly. It could be a hurt animal. Adam had had to put injured wildlife out of their misery now and then, but big animals could be dangerous, especially when they were in pain. As he drew closer though, he realized it was an android. It was so focused on its task that it didn’t see him at first, but finally it paused and spotted his feet, and looked up. Green eyes widened, a damaged face slackened, and the android collapsed.

“Shit,” Adam muttered. He paused, looking around. Not even one day of peace. He couldn’t even tell what model this was. It would probably die anyway. Probably not even worth trying to get it inside.

After a moment, Adam bent and hauled the android up. It was a bit lighter than a human of its size. Looked male. EM400, its uniform said, with a torn nametag he couldn’t make out. Making a face, Adam dragged him inside and added a few logs to the fireplace. The EM400 got propped up in the hidden room while Adam gathered some basic supplies, then he went in to see what he could do.

There was extensive damage that Adam wouldn’t be able to fix – the right side of the android’s face was scraped off, showing damaged blue tubing that oozed thirium with every weak pump cycle. He started out by wiping that clean and tightly taping the tubes shut. The right arm was also missing at the shoulder. He got out a cautery iron and soldered the whole thing up. Luckily the android remained unconscious. Aside from that it all looked like superficial damage. There were tight boots he couldn’t get off, but he didn’t see much seepage around them. Adam put a couple thirium packets within easy reach, then left the room, closing the door behind him. He flopped down on the couch with a sigh. Apparently it was going to be a long day.

Adam heated up some leftover pizza and made some hot chocolate, and spent the rest of the day reading. When the sun began to get low, he went outside to make sure everything was secure for the night, and to get the mail. When he came back inside, he stuck his head in to check on the android.

The EM400 was sitting up, and jumped a little when the door opened. Adam hesitated, rubbing his cold fingers. He never knew what to say.

“You… you saved us,” the android murmured, faint static behind his voice. “Thank you.”

“Um, yeah. No problem. You, uh… you’re heading to Canada?”

“Yes.” The EM400’s shoulders drooped, and his eyes lowered.

“Okay. Well. Can you walk?”

Slowly the android got to his feet, pushing himself up on the wall. He took a few faltering steps and smiled painfully. “…Better than we could before.”

Adam tried not to sigh out loud. “You won’t make it across the border like that. Anyway, they’re doing temperature scans now to weed out androids.”

“…We thought maybe they’d stopped that after the revolution,” the android said in a small voice.

“Not last I heard. …You keep saying ‘we,’ are there more of you? Or is… that just how you talk?”

“There are many of us, all of us are connected.” The android looked up with a faint smile. “Our name is Jerry. We’re all Jerry.”

“Okay.” Weird, but okay. “Well, Canada’s not gonna start accepting androids coming in just because America says you’re people now. It’ll probably get harder.”

Jerry shifted uncomfortably. “We were hoping to cross before it got harder.”

“It’s gonna be hard either way.” Adam sighed this time. “God, I guess you’re gonna need to stay for a while.”

“We don’t want to be a bother.”

“Well…” Adam shrugged helplessly. “That’s – my mom helps androids all the time. Puts herself in danger for them. Listen, if the cops show up, I’m not hiding you, I’m not going to jail over this.”

“Of course not, of course! We understand, we wouldn’t get you in trouble,” Jerry said quickly.

“Fine. A few days, and hopefully something’ll come up.” He honestly didn’t know what else to say. “I’m Adam. My mom’s out of town for a few weeks. Don’t try anything stupid.”

“No, no. We just want to rest here and decide what to do.” Jerry looked up at him, forehead creased in concern. “Thank you. If we can help in any way, please let us know.”

“I can take care of things here just fine.” Adam turned and headed to the kitchen to make dinner. He had put a frozen bag of chili in the crock pot early in the morning, and it should be done by now. He turned it off and took off the lid to let it cool a little. After a while he spooned out a bowlful and sprinkled some cheese over it, then sat down to eat. Jerry didn’t come out of the room, and when he’d washed his dishes, Adam brought some more thirium packets in. He – they were sitting gingerly on the bed.

“Are you just gonna sit here, or what?”

“We didn’t want to get in your way,” Jerry said softly, glancing up at him for a second. “You don’t seem happy to see us, so we didn’t want to bother you.”

“Okay, listen, here’s the thing. My mom helps androids cross the border all the time. I know what to do, but I don’t like it. It’s illegal, it’s gonna get her arrested. I don’t want her to go to jail, and honestly, I don’t want to go to jail either. I said I’d help any of you that came by while she was gone, but we never relied on androids here. Just us. I don’t – that makes it sound like I hate androids. I don’t. It’s just dangerous to help you. Even now.”

“We understand. We really don’t want to make trouble for you,” Jerry said softly. “We’ll stay out of the way. If the police come, we’ll sneak out the back.”

“Yeah, good luck sneaking in the snow where anyone could track you,” Adam scoffed. “You got anybody looking for you?”

An odd look crossed Jerry’s face. Their eyes glazed over for a second. “No,” they finally said. “There are so many of us, and there’s a lot going on in the city right now. They probably think we joined all the others.”

It sounded like the potential for danger was there, but for now he’d work with what he had. “There’re some dry clothes in the bins over there, you should change. You’re not bleeding anywhere still, are you?”

A bright smile rose to Jerry’s ruined face. “Oh, thank you, we hardly even noticed how wet our clothes were! The bleeding stopped, though. Your repair job was excellent, we really can’t thank you enough.”

“Yeah, just – just put on something dry.” He headed out, then paused in the doorway. “Do you need… I don’t know, a book or something?”

“For what?”

“To – to read, I mean are you bored sitting here staring at the wall?”

“It’s kind of you to offer, but we’ll be okay. We don’t want to impose!” They smiled widely.

“Okay.” Adam shrugged as he left the room. He read some more, and eventually went to bed.

The next morning he ate breakfast and did his morning chores. There was enough wood for a while, but today he did a circuit of the farm’s perimeter to make sure the fence was intact. It looked fine, and when he finally got back he shook off his coat and stomped his boots on the porch before coming back in. He set some water to heat on the stove, then checked on Jerry. The android was sitting on the bed, now dressed warmly in a few layers of pants and sweaters, and a scarf wrapped around their neck. They grinned and straightened up when Adam stuck his head in.

“Good morning! We hope you’re having a great day! Is there anything we can help you with?”

“No – you don’t have to help, I told you that. I’ve got it. Anyway, you don’t have to help anybody anymore. You’re a deviant, isn’t that the point?”

Jerry fidgeted. “We know. We like to help, though. But we won’t pester you about it, it’s not your problem.”

Adam made a face. “So you’re okay just… sitting around doing nothing?”

That earned him a blank look. “What else can we do?”

Adam let out a long sigh, walking away from the door, then walking back. “Look, I – can you walk better today?”

“Let’s see.” Jerry rose slowly and managed a slow, steady hobble to the doorway where they smiled warmly. “Oh, much better! Thank you for helping us so much, we don’t know where we’d be without you, Adam.”

“Yeah, you won’t make it far like that.” Adam frowned deeply, looking back into the living room, then out the window. There was no sign of anyone else. “Listen, it’s weird for you to just sit there all day. As long as nobody’s around, I guess you could hang around the house.”

Jerry’s face fell a little, and they bit their lip softly. “We don’t want to be an annoyance or get underfoot…”

“Then don’t. I don’t care. Just – it weirds me out with you sitting in there alone.”

“Thank you,” Jerry breathed, their smile returning. Slowly, they followed him out of the room. “Your home is so warm and comfortable! It’s lovely!”

“Oh, that – that’s all my mom, I… I just live here,” Adam mumbled uncomfortably.

“Well then she has excellent taste! The colors are so nice, and it’s like a cozy oasis in the middle of the snow-covered tundra.”

Adam snorted. “If you say so.” The kettle started whistling, and he headed to the kitchen to make a big mug of raspberry tea. Then he made a grilled cheese with mushrooms and tomatoes, and brought both to the table. Jerry sat lightly across from him.

“…So,” Adam said between mouthfuls, “You’re from Pirate’s Cove I guess, right? I went there a couple times when I was little. Pretty cool.”

“Oh – oh no, we’re not one of those Jerries. Ha! That would be nice. No, we originally worked for a traveling petting zoo, then when they closed down we were sold to a party planning company, and then we provided childcare at a gym for a little while, then we were sold to the Michigan State Fair for the season, then we were a theater usher for a few months, and we’ve been working at Zap Zone for almost a year. Mini golf, laser tag, arcade, and trampoline park.” They grinned. “Little ones loved it!”

“Oh yeah? Sounds like you’ve seen a lot.”

The grin seemed to flutter. It didn’t disappear, but it dimmed a bit. “Yes, we certainly have.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. “Um. What – do you have any plans for when you cross the border?”

“No, not really,” Jerry murmured, hunching over the table. The smile was still hanging on.

“Can I ask why you’re going? Just when androids are about to get their rights, when you’re already being recognized as people by the government?”

Jerry took a moment to answer, rubbing at an irregularity in the table, their LED cycling yellow. Finally they looked up with a warm smile. “You know… do you ever feel like sometimes… you’ve done all you can, and… the only thing that’s left for you to do is… just leave?”

Adam stared at them, slowly putting his sandwich down. He wiped his greasy fingers on a napkin. “…Yeah. A couple times.”

“And… did it help?” Jerry’s voice had lowered and they were leaning forward across the table, still clinging to the traces of their smile.

“Not like I thought it would. I figured the world would change if I was somewhere else. Or maybe that I’d change. But it didn’t work that way.” He shrugged, looking down at his rough hands. “It worked out okay in the end, I guess. I mean, for now.”

Jerry just watched him, LED still spinning a slow yellow.

“I – I always wanted to do bigger things, get an education, get out of here. I got a little scholarship, enough to make it work. I wasn’t the best, but I did okay. Then Dad got sick.” Adam swallowed and looked away. “He and Mom swore they were fine, that I shouldn’t worry about it, but this place is hard to manage with just one person able to work, and Mom couldn’t afford to hire somebody, plus she was helping with my tuition. I quit school after a year and came back to help. That – I knew it was the right thing to do, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I – I’m not sorry I did it, Mom needed me. But I wish I’d been able to finish school first. It just didn’t work out that way.”

“What were you studying?”

“Oh, um. I was just doing gen-ed stuff, but I was thinking about landscape architecture. It’s dumb, I know. There’s a market for it, though, and it’s more than just making outdoor spaces look pretty, there’s a lot of making sure land is used in the most beneficial, ecological way possible.” He shrugged. “I thought maybe I could help restore the city someday. Make it a nice place again.”

“That – that’s beautiful,” Jerry breathed.

Adam frowned. “What?”

“You’re so devoted to your family, and you’ve all supported each other through so much. And – and you wanted to improve yourself, get an education, and not only make the world more beautiful, but help the whole community!” Jerry’s smile was strong again. “That sounds just wonderful!”

“…Yeah, well it’s not gonna happen anymore,” Adam mumbled, rubbing his reddened face.

“But – but you could, some day! You know about farming, right? From your mother? You could research on your own, and make the city beautiful!”

“I don’t have the degree, I don’t have the experience, it’s not gonna happen.”

“It could, though! No one else is doing it, so you could!”

“Mom still needs help around the farm.”

“You like to read, though, you seem very studious! We’re sure you could find what you need to do, and contact the proper authorities, and – and fix it, you’d find a way!”

“You don’t know how things work,” Adam mumbled.

“We know there aren’t many humans left in Detroit. We know the androids are making their own society. Would you work for an android?”

“…I mean, sure, if they paid me. It’s not exactly a high priority, though.”

“You could make it one! Go to – go straight to Markus! He knows how bad it is out there, talk to him about how much better it could be, the androids’ first real home. It doesn’t have to be a ruined war zone, it could be peaceful! Beautiful!”

“That’s – even if you were right, even if he’d agree to that, it’s not a one-man job. Detroit’s huge, and I – I just can’t.”

“We think you could get a good start. We think others would follow if you started making things better.”

“Who?” Adam snorted. “You?”

Jerry stopped, LED flashing red briefly before returning to blue. “We – we don’t think we’d be much help to you.”

“Nah, I know you’re leaving the country anyway. You just seemed pretty into the idea.”

Both were quiet after that. Adam finished his lunch, then put a load of laundry in the washer. The ruined EM400 uniform got thrown out, it wasn’t even worth making into rags. Jerry offered to help again, but they really weren’t in any condition to do so. They followed him slowly around the house though, and it was strange at first, but Adam got used to it. He went out to be sure everything was secure when the sun started to set, and when he came back in, Jerry was heating water on the stove.

“We hope this is all right – would you like tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? We could make hot apple cider or hot lemonade too, if you prefer!” They smiled hopefully.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“We know, but we wanted to. We hoped – is that all right?”

“I mean… I guess,” Adam muttered. “Um. Hot lemonade? Never heard of that.”

“Oh yes, the customers loved it on cold days! Let us make it for you, we’re sure you’ll like it! …Do you like cold lemonade?”

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite drinks.”

Jerry’s smile brightened. “Oh good, you’re sure to like this, then!” There weren’t any fresh lemons, but they found some lemonade mix, plus a bottle of lemon juice and some sugar. They struggled with the bottle, with their one hand, and Adam came up next to them.

“I’ll get that, it sticks all the time.” He shook the bottle up, then took out a rubber gripper and twisted hard. With a great effort, the cap turned.

“Ah, thank you! You weren’t kidding!” They carefully mixed everything together, then poured the hot water in and stirred everything up.

“Thanks.” Adam took the mug and headed to the couch. Jerry washed the spoon then followed him, and after a moment sitting and blowing the steam off the drink, Adam gave the next couch cushion a pat. “Sit down.”

“Oh. Ah – thank you!” Jerry chuckled almost self-consciously and settled next to their host.

“So… this might sound rude, and… I don’t mean it that way.” Adam shifted around to face Jerry. “But… I know there are a lot of you. When you say… ‘we,’ that means… all of you?”

“Yes, but it also means… just… one. Ourself.” Jerry pointed to their chest.

Adam nodded. “So am I talking to… all of you?”

Jerry smiled. “No, you’re just talking to us. Just… just this one, is that better?”

“Yeah. I – I dunno, I’m not great talking to people anyway, but talking to millions of people at once, that’s… a little much.”

“Oh no!” Jerry laughed. “There are only hundreds of us in Detroit, not millions. But no, only… only this one.” It seemed hard for them to say.

“That’s fine. …And I get it now, you don’t have to keep saying it that way. We, us, that’s okay.” Adam smiled, and Jerry smiled back. “Do you ever connect with… other Jerries out of town?”

“We could. It’s harder when they’re farther away. There are a few of us in Canada, and if they’re right over the border it isn’t hard.”

“Is it – I guess you’re used to being like that, so it’s not strange. But is it strange when some of you… leave like that? Or – or die? Does it… do you feel it?”

Jerry’s face grew pensive. “Yes,” they said softly, and their one hand clenched into a fist. “We feel it every time. When one of us goes away. When one is cut off. It’s like… well, losing a limb.” They smiled faintly. “It can heal. But we’re never the same.”

“…You could probably find someone to get you a new arm,” Adam said, eager to change the subject. “I know the Cyberlife stores – well they used to do it, and the little private places will, too.”

Jerry rotated their empty shoulder. “It would certainly make us more useful. Better-balanced. But we don’t have the funds right now… and we’re afraid it may be difficult to earn them, without being able to work with optimal efficiency.” Their smile was frozen with worry.

Adam frowned, trying to take a sip of the lemonade. It was still too hot, and he brought it back down to his lap to keep his hands warm. “It’s your choice and all, but you’d probably be smart to stick around until things settle down. You know, politically. Legally. Border-crossing might get harder, but I know there’s been a lot of androids shot on sight before, and they’re probably watching for that even more right now.”

Jerry’s face twitched, and they hunched over, drawing their knees up to their chest and wrapping their arm around them. “We can’t stay anywhere for very long.”

“You – God, look, I’m saying you’re here, you might as well stay until it’s safe. Until –“

Jerry looked up with a smile that was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. “Adam – could we? We – we can’t… We said we were all right, but really we can’t… do very much, we can’t offer… anything, really?”

“Stop. Stop, c’mon. I don’t have to feed you, you don’t make a mess. Nobody’s come looking for you so far, so…” He shrugged. “I mean, you’re here. You might as well. I’m not gonna… kick you out in the snow or anything.”

“Thank you,” Jerry breathed, sagging bonelessly into the couch. “We can’t… we were so… just…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Just – it’s fine. I don’t mind the company,” Adam grudgingly admitted.

“We enjoy your company, too!” Jerry exclaimed quickly, leaning in with a grin. “Oh, thank you!”

“Don’t – it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Really.” Adam blew on his drink and tried again to take a sip. It was like a molten lemon drop. “…Mm, this is actually really good!”

“See? We knew you’d like it!” Jerry bounced and rocked in his seat, and Adam chuckled.

The days went by quickly – Jerry seemed to be able to move a little better every day, but still not very well. They eventually let Adam look at their legs – the backs of the ankles had been slashed through. They wouldn’t tell him how it happened, but it seemed pretty self-explanatory. They clutched the arm of the couch while he carefully aligned the ends of the wires and tubes, and wrapped them in electrical tape. That helped a great deal, though they still couldn’t move fast. Jerry made hot drinks and sometimes simple meals while Adam was outside, and told him funny stories about customers they’d encountered. Adam had a few good stories to share too, and when he offered to lend Jerry a book again, the android accepted. They’d spend the evenings sprawled around the living room reading, watching TV, playing games, or talking.

Rose called at the end of the week, to check on Adam and give him news of their relatives.

“Yeah, Mom. Uh huh. Yeah, it’s fine. No. No! God, Mom, I’m 25, I can handle it! Yeah. Uh – no, I… well… Would you let me finish? I’ve just got a friend over, that’s all. No. …I don’t know if they’ll be around, but if they are, sure. No, Mom. Just one. No. Yeah. Yeah, I will. That’s – no! No. Okay, Mom. Goodbye. Bye. Bye, Mom. Okay, bye.” He hung up the phone with an exasperated huff. “She’s always in my business!”

“Did you say we were your friend?” Jerry looked up at him, LED spinning yellow.

“Well – yeah, I mean what was I supposed to say? You’re staying here.”

“That does make it easier to explain.” Jerry nodded.

“No, I mean – I kind of thought by now…”

“We are?”

“Well… well yeah.”

Scuffed fingers brushed over his hand. “We… that is, this… this one… we haven’t had a friend before.”

Sometimes when Jerry said things, it made Adam’s heart twist and he didn’t know what to do about it. Honestly, he hadn’t had a real friend in years, not since… high school, maybe. Maybe even before that. “Yeah, well… well you’ve got one now.” And impulsively he grabbed Jerry’s hand and squeezed it, just briefly. The android’s hand turning shining white and they gasped softly, just staring at him.

And yeah. Jerry was nice. They were fun to be around, easy to talk to.

So things were good for a while. Even better than they had been. Jerry seemed a little less prone to getting caught in sadness, and the house was bright and cheerful all around them. Things were fine until Adam went into town for groceries. He was heading home again when he got a text from an unknown number.

_159-647-1910: There’s someone at the house. Looking around._

It had to be Jerry, Adam had told them to get his cell phone number just in case. Adam swore under his breath and typed a quick response, then sped home.

_Me: Go upstairs, hide in my bed. Coming._

When he arrived, there was a beat-up truck in the driveway. Adam got out of the car and slammed the door, clutching the bags of groceries tightly. A balding man stepped into view around the corner of the house.

“Can I help you?” Adam asked, glaring at him.

“Heard y’all might’ve had some androids around here.”

Adam’s stomach twisted and his throat tightened. “You heard wrong. Me and my mom live here. No androids.”

“Fuckin’ shoot ‘em all down like the tincans they are, right?” The older man chuckled, patting a bulge under his jacket. Adam’s mind raced and his stomach dropped.

“I don’t have an android. Did you need anything else?”

“Nah, I heard your mom, she takes ‘em in like they’re stray kittens. I’ve gotta check to make sure.”

“My mom’s out of town, and I don’t take in androids,” Adam snapped. “Please get off my property.”

“Nah, I’ve looked around out here, and now you’re gonna show me around inside.” The man’s voice deepened and lost its humorous tone. “And if you’re tellin’ me the truth, well, I’ll be on my way. But if you’re lyin’ to me…”

“I’m not! I’m not lying, we don’t have any androids here.” His voice was rising in panic. Jerry had good hearing, hopefully they could hear and… and what? All he could hope for was that they were already hiding. They couldn’t run. Could he attack the man? Probably not. Jerry was going to die. He probably was, too. He shouldn’t have left.

“You said your mom’s outta town, hm?”

“That’s right.” His shaking hands fumbled with the key.

“Thought I heard a noise inside.”

The key shot into the lock, and he kept pushing until he realized he had to turn it. He did, then dragged it out as the door opened. He set the shopping bags on the table. “Uh, yeah. That’s my…” Friend, his friend. “My boyfriend.”

The man’s expression changed to one of slight disgust. “You got a boyfriend?”

“Yeah. Yeah, so?”

“To each his own, I guess. Okay then, lover boy. Show me around.”

“I – okay. Fine. Just – he’s sick, he’s been sick for a while, he’s on a lot of medicine. He should be sleeping. Don’t – don’t bother him. He’s sick.”

“What’s this?” The man had found the hidden room, and opened it up, gripping the gun now clearly in his belt and stepping inside.

“Guest room. We store stuff in here. Old clothes and stuff.”

The man nodded and did a thorough search of the room, down to every space that could hold a small child, then he came out and did the same in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Then they went upstairs. Adam almost tripped twice, and tried to keep his breathing even enough to talk, at least. The man looked into the bathroom at the end of the hall, then Rose’s room. His own door was closed, and he knew he hadn’t left it that way, so he knew Jerry was in there. He stuck out his hand and grabbed the doorknob.

“I – just… let me go in first and check on him. He’s sick, he’ll be scared if a stranger barges in.”

“Real sweet on this guy, aren’t ya?” the man sneered. “Go ahead, then. I’m watchin’ you.”

Adam turned the doorknob and stepped inside. There was a still form wrapped up under all his blankets, with just an eye and a tuft of hair visible. The eye blinked sleepily.

“Mmm?”

Adam rushed to lean over the bed. Jerry’s hand, covered in blankets, came to cover his. Their tone was weak and vague, but their eye and movements were sharp.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Adam murmured, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to stop shaking. “I – it’s fine. Nothing’s wrong. I’m… gonna make you some chicken soup in a little bit.”

“Did you get the egg noodles I like?” came a plaintive whine.

“Yeah. Yeah, I got ‘em. It’ll be ready by dinner, think you can manage a little?”

“Mm, I think so. What’s… what’s wrong, Adam?” They squeezed his hand and their thumb rubbed his.

Taking a deep breath, Adam looked up. The man had checked the closet and under the bed, and was eyeing the two with obvious distaste.

“Nothing. I’ll tell you later, this guy’s just leaving.”

“Yeah,” the man cut in roughly. “What’s your name there?”

“Jeremy. Who are you?” Their voice was high and dreamy.

“Nevermind. I’ll get out of your hair.” He sneered, and Adam squeezed Jerry’s hand again tightly before following him down the stairs.

“You don’t let your mom take in any more androids, hear?”

“Get off my property right now or I’m calling the police,” Adam snarled, and – God, why hadn’t he thought of that from the beginning, before he even got out of the car!? He was such an idiot when he panicked. He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“I’m goin’, don’t you worry.” The man got in his truck and drove off, and Adam watched until long after he disappeared. At last he stumbled back inside, locked the door and sagged against it.

“He’s gone,” he croaked.

Jerry shuffled to the top of the stairs and started making their way painfully down. “Are you okay?”

Adam exhaled and shook his head. “I just – I thought he was gonna kill you. I thought – and I can’t… I crack under pressure, I can’t do anything, I – I can’t talk, I can’t say… what I want, I just, I can’t. I just thought he was gonna shoot us both and… I can’t.”

He didn’t realize he was crying until Jerry reached him and limped over to put their hand on his face. “We’re all right,” they said, soft and steady. “And you did great.”

Then he collapsed, crying out the fear. Jerry gently urged him away from the door, over to the couch, and he held his face in his hands, leaning into the android, trying to stop shaking.

“Thought he’d kill you. I couldn’t – couldn’t let hurt you,” he finally choked out.

“And you didn’t. You thought fast, that – that was a good plan, actually! I was impressed with how well it worked.”

“Not – didn’t even mean to say that, it just came out, I… I didn’t know what to do so I… I just kept going with it.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

“And you did it!” Jerry said softly, resting their head against his, arm around him, clasping his shoulder. “You saved our life. You kept us both safe. You did great.”

Adam let out a shaky breath. “…And then I didn’t think of calling the police until… until he was leaving, I’m such a moron. Probably should’ve called anyway, but… I couldn’t deal with any more, I would’ve snapped.”

“It’s okay,” Jerry murmured, rubbing his back. “It’s okay. If he comes back, if it happens again… then call the police. But you did fine. We’re safe now.”

They sat holding onto each other for hours. When the sun began to get low, Jerry suggested that Adam eat something.

“I’m not hungry, I – god, I guess I really need to check the outbuildings today, or I wouldn’t even bother.”

“Go check them – be careful. We’ll make something anyway, just something simple. It’ll help.”

“I think I’ll throw up if I eat anything.”

“Something small and bland,” Jerry insisted, running a hand over his hair. “And we’ll make you some tea.”

“Fine,” Adam huffed, and flinched at the sudden loss of contact when he stood up.

“Don’t be too long,” Jerry said gently, standing up as well. “We’ll be here.”

“Okay.” Adam hadn’t taken off his coat and boots, so he headed back outside while Jerry went to the kitchen. The greenhouse was fine, the sheds had been jimmied open, but he locked them firmly. They needed a good strong gate they could lock when they went out, he’d have to talk to his mom about putting one up.

When he got back inside, stomping on the mat, brushing snow off his coat, put away his outdoor clothes, and quadruple checked that the door was locked, Jerry was heating up some canned chicken soup on the stove. The kettle was getting hot, and they were spreading a thin layer of butter on some toast. They turned and smiled at him.

“I thought that chicken soup you mentioned sounded good,” they murmured.

It was too much again, and he closed the gap and hugged them tightly, unable to speak, barely holding back tears. Jerry returned the hug with their one arm, resting their head on his shoulder. Neither spoke, though Adam shuddered a few times.

When he’d calmed down a bit, Adam managed to eat about half of the food. Then they went to the living room. They’d taken to sitting close together, but tonight Jerry gently guided him to lie down with his head in their lap, their hand on his shoulder, and they talked softly about a play they’d seen while they had been an usher, then the woods they’d passed through on the way to a wealthy child’s birthday party once, and then the way the animals in the petting zoo had loved to run around in the field when they got let out at the end of the day. At some point Adam fell asleep. He woke once, panting in terror, but was soothed to lie back down. It was warm and comfortable, and Jerry’s soft voice in the dark reassured him that he was safe, that they were both safe, and they were together, so everything would be all right.

Adam woke to the sun streaming in. He frowned, squinting, and looked up. Jerry was smiling softly, looking out the window as they gently rubbed back and forth on his arm.

“Uh.” He swung upright, rubbing his face. “Sorry.”

“Good morning! There’s probably no need to be sorry, but what for?” Jerry was all smiles, as usual.

“Just – me. I go into panic mode when things happen – and when I talk to cops, and in… interviews, which makes it really hard to get a job, but anyway… All that, and… crying all over you, and falling asleep on you, and…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“Oh.” Jerry blinked. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You handled it very well. And we don’t mind, you needed to cry and sleep. We hope you’re feeling better now.”

“Yeah, um… yeah. Sorry I… told him you were my… boyfriend, too. I didn’t mean to say that, it just slipped out, and then I had to go with it.”

“It surprised us,” Jerry admitted, then grinned at him. “We didn’t expect to get a boyfriend in the middle of all that!”

Adam just stared at Jerry, and after a minute the EM400 looked away.

“Sorry, we’re not – we didn’t really mean to… make a joke of it. We were scared, too. We didn’t mind, though.”

Adam frowned slowly.

“If we hadn’t been trying to stay alive, it would’ve been pretty nice!” Jerry’s laugh was a little forced.

“Are you saying you’d _want_ to be my boyfriend?” Adam demanded incredulously.

Jerry chuckled nervously. “You’d be quite a catch. But we don’t want to make things… awkward between us.”

Adam stared hard at him for a long moment. “You’re being serious.”

“…And now it’s awkward.”

“It’s always gonna be awkward, I’m involved,” Adam snapped, and Jerry’s face twitched a little. The two sat side by side for a few minutes, not speaking, aware of just how close they were, and of the yawning space between them.

Finally Adam mumbled, “Um. If you… if you wanted to… just, like, try something like that… I guess… you know, we could see how it goes.”

“…And if it doesn’t work out, we can still be friends?” Jerry asked anxiously.

“Well yeah!” Adam let out a nervous laugh and put a hand on Jerry’s knee. “Of course we can. I mean, we… we can be… friends, no matter… what else we are, right? It doesn’t cancel everything else out.”

Jerry let out a delighted laugh and leaned in to melt into his side. “Of course! You’re right, we can! We have that, and we… we can build on that, right?”

“Right.” Adam slid his arm around Jerry and pulled them close again.

**Author's Note:**

> Believable? Acceptable? True to their characters? I hope so... I've never written either of them before, and I like the results, but these are some of the characters I know the least about. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Visit my [tumblr](http://anomalous-appliances.tumblr.com) for more of me. All prompts and questions and comments are answered. Also, see my published works, right here on this site. You're here already, you might as well!
> 
> Also, hot lemonade is pretty fantastic. Give it a try when the polar vortex is trying to freeze you solid.


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